Indians: John Axford sees a good fit in Cleveland

FILe - In this Aug. 31, 2013 file photo, St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher John Axford delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh. Free agent Axford, who had 46 saves for Milwaukee in 2011 but has struggled the past two seasons, has agreed to terms on a contract with the Indians, pending a physical. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Sounds like this guy is going to be fun.
New Indians closer John Axford used his Twitter account to “officially” announce his signing with the Indians Thursday. Axford tweeted a photo of Brewers announcer Bob Uecker, who played shoot-from-the-hip broadcaster Harry Doyle from the movie “Major League.”
The photo shows Uecker/Doyle sitting at the microphone, saying, through a bubble quote above his head, “John Axford signing official today. We’re told he matured a lot over the winter. Apparently he’s bathing now. Congratulations John!”
Given the high pressure nature of the job, it’s always good to have a closer with a sense of humor, so the Indians are off to a good start with Axford, who passed his physical and officially became a member of the Indians on Thursday.
“We’ve added an experienced power arm to the back of our bullpen. John is a guy who has had a lot of success closing games at the major-league level,” Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti said.
“There were a lot of factors in me choosing Cleveland,” Axford said. “The team itself; it’s always fun to pitch for a contender. The makeup of the team, it seems like I’ll be a good fit there. And in talking to Terry Francona, and hearing what he had to say. He was very upfront with me about the team, the organization, the city. It just sounded to me like a situation I want to be a part of.”
It’s a one-year, $4.5 million deal for the 30-year-old Axford, who, at his best, was as good as any closer the Indians have ever had. Axford was at his best with Milwaukee in 2011, when he had a 1.95 ERA and led the National League with 46 saves. He was almost as good in 2012, saving 35 games, but, in 2013, he became an ex-closer.
First, he lost his closer’s job with the Brewers, then later in the season, he was traded to St. Louis, where he was used in a non-closer role. In a combined 75 appearances for the Brewers and Cardinals, Axford was 7-7 with a 4.02 ERA and zero saves.
Antonetti said the Indians are not concerned about Axford’s struggles last season.
“He maintained his stuff throughout the year, and still had an elite fastball,” Antonetti said. “He made some adjustments at the end of the season with St. Louis and got back to pitching the way he did when he was successful in Milwaukee. We did quite a bit of research on this, and using our scouting reports, video, and our analytics, all those things point to him having a bounce-back year, that he’s a good guy to take a chance on.”
Axford lost the closer’s job in Milwaukee after just four appearances to start the season. In those four appearances, he was 0-2, with a 24.30 ERA, gave up four home runs in 3 1/3 innings, and opposing batters hit .500 against him.
However, in his last 71 appearances for Milwaukee and St. Louis, his ERA was 2.92. He had a record of 7-5 and opposing batters hit .269 against him.
“After those first four games, I actually had as good a season as I’ve ever had,” Axford said.
The working theory for Axford’s slow start — one that Indians officials felt was also true of Vinnie Pestano last season — is that Axford tried to ramp up too fast for the World Baseball Classic, which took place before most pitchers had any spring training.
“I don’t like to make excuses,” Axford said. “I really enjoyed pitching for my country, but I really don’t think my arm was ever ready for the start of the regular season. I had a dead arm and my velocity was down in those first few games of the regular season. But when you give up four home runs and have an ERA of 22 after four games, you can’t be surprised that you’re not the closer anymore.”
Before last year, Axford had a great three-year run as the Brewers’ closer. From 2010 to 2012, he appeared in 199 games and had a 3.02 ERA and averaged 35 saves per season.
“We examined all the free-agent closers out there and we felt John was the best fit for us,” Antonetti said. “He is a well-respected teammate, he’ll fit well in our clubhouse and will be a leader in our bullpen.”Roster move
To make room for Axford on the Indians’ 40-man roster pitcher Trey Haley was designated for assignment. Haley, 23, was a highly regarded Texas high school pitcher when the Indians selected him in the second round of the 2008 June draft, but in six years in the Tribe’s minor-league system, he never threw a pitch above the Class AA level.